Method of producing a brief-type undergarment

ABSTRACT

A brief for men and boys characterized in that it is formed of substantially a single blank cut from a tubular fabric, one section of tubing disposed between two spaced transverse cuts providing two identical garments. The blank is so cut from such a section as to yield a swatch so shaped that it may form a supplemental reinforcing seat portion, although not required. The invention consists of the novel garment and also its method of fabrication.

United States Patent Inventor Karl E. Senser Riverside, lll.

Appl. No. 874,260

Filed Nov. 5, 1969 Patented July 13, 1971 Assignee Sears, Roebuck andCo. Chicago, [11.

METHOD OF PRODUCING A BRIEF-TYPE UNDERGARMENT 2 Claims, 9 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl 2/224, 2/243 lnt.Cl A411) 9/02 Field of Search 2/224, 238,

[56] References Cited UNl'TED STATES PATENTS 2,707,284 5/1955 Artzt2/243 B 3,491,375 1/1970 Beard et a1 2/224A FOREIGN PATENTS 1,212,61710/1959 France 2/224 A 1,345,649 11/1963 France 2/224 A PrimaryExaminer-H. Hampton Hunter Almrneys- Frank H. Marks and Nathan N. KrausABSTRACT: A brief for men and boys characterized in that it is formed ofsubstantially a single blank cut from a tubular fabric, one section oftubing disposed between two spaced transverse cuts providing twoidentical garments. The blank is so cut from such a section as to yielda swatch so shaped that it may form a supplemental reinforcing seatportion, although not required. The invention consists of the novelgarment and also its method of fabrication.

PATENTEMLHIQI: 3591.865

SHEET 1 BF 2 FIG, 5

IN VEN TO'Q PATENTEDJULISIBH 3 591 865 SHEET 2 OF 2 I Fla, 7 f H METHODOF PRODUCING A BRIEF-TYFE UNDERGARMENT My invention has to do with anundergarment of the general character of drawers for wear by men andboys and may in a sense be considered an improvement over the inventiondescribed and claimed in my copending U.S. Pat. application Serial No.650,833, filed July 3, 1967 and now US. Pat. No. 3,487,833 dated Jan. 6,1970.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The aforesaid prior invention involves abrief, or snugly fitting drawers, characterized by the presence of anoverlap extending upwardly from the crotch and overlapping a panel whichextends downwardly from the waist over the abdomen, and including apassage with a horizontal opening, the upper edge of said overlap havingmeans for resiliently closing said passage. That structure has certainimportant advantages not found in the prior art.

The usual brief, as marketed for a long time, is characterized byoverlapping layers of fabric in front with an opening along a verticalline. Furthermore, such a garment is usually fabricated from a pluralityof pieces or swatches of fabric, as many as six in some cases, requiringconsiderable hand labor in cutting and sewing and excessive wastematerial. Hence, the cost is high.

BRIEF OUTLINE OF THE INVENTION The present invention, incontradistinction to said pending application, is characterized by thepresence of a pair of overlapping flaps of fabric covering the abdomen,groin and crotch portions of the wearer's anatomy and providing ahorizontal passage through the vertical edges of said flaps. Thestructure of said garment is so designed and constructed that saidvertical side edges of the aforesaid flaps providing said passage willpermit manual access from the right side and will normally be maintainedtaut. Thus, the overlap which forms the support will provide the supportfor the genitalia desired by young males who prefer this type ofgannent.

Another object is to provide a garment of the type referred to sodesigned that it may be cut from tubular fabric in such manner as toprovide little or no wasted material, thus reducing cost.

Still another object is to provide a garment of the type referred todesigned so that it may be cut from tubular material to provide a swatchwhich may, if desired, be attached to the garment as a seatreinforcement.

A further object is to provide a new and improved method of producing agarment of the type referred to which may be fabricated from a singleblank of fabric, with a minimum of cutting and sewing operations, andthus is simple, economical, and capable of operation by relativelyunskilled labor.

Other objects and advantages will doubtless suggest themselves to thoseskilled in the art as the description proceeds.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Referring now to the drawings forminga part of this specification and illustrating a preferred embodiment ofmy invention,

FIG. I is a front plan view of a brief embodying my invention, certainparts being cut away for added clearness;

FIG. 2 is a rear plan view of the same;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 3-3 ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the overlap portion of the garment, takensubstantially along the line 4-4 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially along theline 5-5 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary view of a strip of tubing from which my improvedgarments are fabricated;

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a fabric section cut from tubing seen inFIG. 6, at a subsequent stage ofproduction;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a blank for a single garment at a still laterstage of production, and

FIG.- 9 is a plan view of a supplemental seat portion for a garmentembodying my invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION It is believed that my invention may be mostclearly understood ifl first describe the method of production.

Referring to FIGS. 6--9, inclusive, there is utilized a tubular materialof a character commonly employed in the textile industry, being anelastic knitted fabric known in the trade as Spandex or Lycra, thenumeral 10 indicating such a tube as disposed on a cutting table,conveyor or the like. Such material has a one-way elasticity asindicated by arrows in FIGS. 8 and 3. Obviously, such a tube willprovide a pair of overlapping sheets 12, 12' of identical width, withlongitudinal edges or fold lines F and F.

A rectangular section is cut from the tubing as defined by thetransverse lines 15, 15.

A cut is made through the tube material through both tubing layers 12and 12' of generally triangular shape, as indicated by numerals 20 and23, said out producing a swatch 25 (seat patch) of generally triangularshape which is then removed as shown in FIG. 9. The converging sides ofthe triangle may, but need not necessarily, terminate a short distanceinwardly of edge F'.

The tube is then cut along fold line F, and the section then openedalong fold line F, resulting in a substantially rectangular swatch asseen in FIG. 7, with the triangular spaces disposed in allochiralrelation. Further cutting is then done along the lines I6, l6, l8, and13', resulting in two identical blanks B (FIGS. 7 and 8), capable ofproducing two garments.

The rectangular swatch defined by lines l8, 18, 20, 20 is eliminated,being the only waste resulting from the operation, which is ofnegligible economic importance.

Blank B is yoke-shaped and characterized by a substantially straighthorizontal edge 30 which is of a length sufficient to pass around thewearers waist, with a substantial overlap, as seen in FIG. 1. Dependingfrom edge 30 at opposite ends thereof is a pair of flaps 32, 32 definedby vertical outer edges 33, 33 and inner edges 35, 35 which are roughlyparallel to edges 33, 33, but slope upwardly and inwardly to roundedcor- V ners 37, 37 and then extend diagonally downwardly and inwardly atan angle of about 45 along straight lines 40, 40, the lower ends ofwhich are spaced apart to define a relatively short horizontal edge 42,approximately equal in width to the wearers crotch.

It will be seen that the central portion .41 of blank B is roughlytriangular, corresponding approximately to the shape and size of swatch25 (FIG. 9).

As stated hereinabove, the fabric of which tube 10 is formed isessentially a one-way stretch material and the blanks hereinabovedescribed are cut so that the major stretch thereof is in a horizontaldirection, as indicated by the arrows in FIGS. 8 and 9.

Blank B constitutes substantially the entire fabric of the gar mentembodying my invention, except for a few accessories such as a waistband45 (FIG. 3) and elastic edging material hereinafter described.

To complete the fabrication of the garment, Blank B is folded over uponits vertical median line, M resulting in overlapping flap portions 32,32, as seen in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4. The elastic waistband 45 may then beattached by stitching 47 and the lower edges of flaps 32 are thensecured together by horizontal stitching at 48 (FIG. 3).

Flaps 32, 32 are likewise secured together by vertical stitching 33, 33at the top and 34, 34 at the bottom for stabilization. Such stitchingextends only a relatively short distance from the top and bottom,respectively, leaving a free open space therebetween for convenientaccess. Such access may be had from the right side.

Obviously, in production, the length of the slit or opening between thetop and bottom vertical stitching may be adjusted as desired by varyingthe length of said stitching.

Suitable tape edge binding is then stitched to the edges of overlap Pprovided by overlapping flaps 32, 32, and similar binding is providedaround the leg openings, an elastic strand being inserted within saidbinding to provide desired resilience along these various edges, so asto insure a snug fit.

Because of the double folds of fabric 32, 32 forming overlap P, thisstructure provides superior support for the male genitalia, which is afeature of considerable importance in this type of garment.

Furthermore, my improved structure insures, in addition to the excellentsupport just mentioned, that firm and neat closure is provided atalltimes, the double-walled overlap providing comfortably positive coverageof the groin and abdomen, at the same time permitting ready ingress andegress through the passage between the flaps.

Although the garment is complete in all respects as hereinabovedescribed, inasmuch as my invention provides the swatch 25 of preciselythe desired shape and size to form a supplemental seat portion, it is soemployed by stitching said swatch 25 to the back of the garment, as seenin FIGS. 2, 3 and 5, the stitching extending around the periphery ofsaid swatch. Thus, my invention permits reinforcement of the garment inthe seat, a place of maximum wear, at substantially no added expense.

It will be seen that l have conceived a novel form of brief having anumber of superior features, as well as a novel method of productionthereof, resulting in nearly complete elimination of waste material andthus efi'ecting substantial economies which may be passed on to theconsumer in the form of reduced cost. Fabrication in accordance with myinvention is so simple and expedient that relatively unskilled personnelmay be employed.

The use of only a simple blank, in lieu of a plurality up to six,effects a saving in both labor and material, while production of thesupplemental seat reinforcing swatch requires no extra step of laborexcept for its attachment.

Various changes coming within the spirit of my invention may suggestthemselves t those skilled in the art; hence, I do not wish to belimited to the specific embodiment shown and described or usesmentioned, but intend the same to be merely exemplary, the scope ofmyinvention being limited only by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A method of producing a garment of the character describedcomprising,

a. cutting a section from elongated tubing of elastic fabric, saidsection being flattened to form two plies and being defined by twolongitudinal fold edges and two spaced transverse edges.

b. cutting out of both plies of said section a pair of identicalgenerally truncated triangular superposed swatches having their baselines substantially parallel to a fold edge and leaving generallytruncated triangular openings in said section,

c. severing said section along said last-mentioned fold edge,

d. opening the plies of said section to form a rectangular piece offabric with said triangular openings in allochiral relation, severingsaid section along its median line transverse to the tube axis to form apair of substantially identical yokeshaped blanks having depending endleg portions and a generally triangular central seat portion with abottom edge, the bottom edges of the seat and leg portions beingapproximately the width of the wearer's crotch,

f. folding said blank along spaced vertical lines adjacent saidtriangular seat portion whereby said leg portions overlap,

g. stitching the bottom edges of said leg portions to the bottom edge ofsaid seat portion to form a double-walled crotch portion disposed inpart over the wearers abdomen, and,

h. stitchin a waistband to the top edge of said blank 2. A met od as inclaim 1 wherein said leg portions are stitched together at the top andbottom thereof, along spaced substantially vertical lines, to restrictthe passage thereof while still permitting convenient manual accesstherebetween.

1. A method of producing a garment of the character describedcomprising, a. cutting a section from elongated tubing of elasticfabric, said section being flattened to form two plies and being definedby two longitudinal fold edges and two spaced transverse edges. b.cutting out of both plies of said section a pair of identical generallytruncated triangular superposed swatches having their base linessubstantially parallel to a fold edge and leaving generally truncatedtriangular openings in said section, c. severing said section along saidlast-mentioned fold edge, d. opening the plies of said section to form arectangular piece of fabric with said triangular openings in allochiralrelation, e. severing said section along its median line transverse tothe tube axis to form a pair of substantially identical yokeshapedblanks having depEnding end leg portions and a generally triangularcentral seat portion with a bottom edge, the bottom edges of the seatand leg portions being approximately the width of the wearer''s crotch,f. folding said blank along spaced vertical lines adjacent saidtriangular seat portion whereby said leg portions overlap, g. stitchingthe bottom edges of said leg portions to the bottom edge of said seatportion to form a double-walled crotch portion disposed in part over thewearer''s abdomen, and, h. stitching a waistband to the top edge of saidblank.
 2. A method as in claim 1 wherein said leg portions are stitchedtogether at the top and bottom thereof, along spaced substantiallyvertical lines, to restrict the passage thereof while still permittingconvenient manual access therebetween.